


red fruit

by boyfrendery



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, First Dates, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 22:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21125933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boyfrendery/pseuds/boyfrendery
Summary: mark goes on a blind date





	red fruit

**Author's Note:**

> this one's for abbey ♡

Mark’s first date in _ months _ is at a Starbucks.

He’s seated at one of the locations near his work, a short 5-minute walk from the restaurant that pays his rent in exchange for hours of washing dishes. His shift ended half an hour ago and he’s been sitting at Starbucks for what feels like forever, waiting for this mystery date to walk in.

He has very little idea of what this guy is like: all Lucas said was that he’s an old friend of Renjun’s and that they’d “be a good match.” Whatever that’s supposed to mean.

Mark quickly glances down at his phone screen, still empty of notifications, and then at the watch on his wrist for the nth time. 5:04pm. He’s starting to second guess if this date is going to show up at all. 

Exactly a minute later, the doors of the café open as a boy with fluffy hair strolls in. Mark notices his outfit (jean on jeans, a bold choice) and tries to figure out what colour his hair is supposed to be. 

It isn’t until the boy walks up to Mark, standing in front of his table with his hands in his pants pocket, that Mark realizes he was staring. Way to go, Minhyung. 

He shakes off the bad impression and gets up from his seat, automatically reaching out his hand toward the boy. “Donghyuck, right?” 

He nods. “Nice to meet you, Mark.” Donghyuck’s hand in Mark’s feels soft, a friendly grip as they shake hands. Mark makes a mental note to buy hand lotion on his way home. 

“I haven’t ordered anything yet,” Mark says, looking down at the empty table. “What would you like? It’ll be on me.” 

A look of surprise flashes quickly across Donghyuck’s face. It vanishes just as fast, replaced with a small smile. “A latte would be great.” Donghyuck takes a seat in the empty chair across from Mark’s and unbuttons his jean jacket. 

The employee at the cash register recognizes Mark (mostly for his bad habit of ordering an espresso shot at 7pm, before his evening shifts) and greets him warmly. She looks over Mark’s shoulder toward his table and gives him a smirk. “First date?” 

“Yeah, is it that obvious?” Mark pulls out the gift card in his wallet and hands it over the counter. “One regular latte and one soy cappuccino for here, please.” 

She quickly enters the order onto the screen and swipes the card. “Just a guess. You’ve been sitting there for a while.” 

He shrugs and just looks back at Donghyuck, who’s busy looking at his phone. His denim jacket hangs off the back of his chair, revealing the white tee he’s wearing. He still can’t figure out what colour his hair is supposed to be. “Yeah, it’s our first date.” He takes the card from her and empties out the spare change from his wallet into the tip jar. “Thanks, Yeri.” 

“No problem. I hope it goes well.” 

He walks back to their table with clammy hands, carrying the mugs across the café carefully. He slowly slides the one in his left hand toward Donghyuck and cradles his own as he sits back down. 

There’s an awkward silence at first. Mark sips on his drink and listens to the mid-2000s R&B playing around the store, T-Pain crooning to a girl in the club. 

_Imma buy you a drank  
__Imma take you home with me _

Donghyuck seems to be listening to the music, too. “Does this place always play R&B?” 

The question catches Mark off guard. “I think it depends on who’s working.” He looks toward the counter and notices Yeri bopping her head along to the music. “Do you like it?” 

Donghyuck nods and takes another sip of his drink. “I don’t mind. It’s just not very…” He pauses and looks up before continuing. “Not coffeeshop-like.” 

The song finishes. Mario begins to play across the store, the nostalgic, loving lyrics of _ Let Me Love You_. “What kind of music do you like, then?” 

And so begins a whirlwind of a conversation with Donghyuck, a back-and-forth of favourite songs from their childhood and what’s currently on their rotation. Along the way, Mark learns that Donghyuck is Renjun’s age, his hair is ash blond ("It used to be a shade of purple," he says with a sigh), and his favourite song from the year he was born is Britney Spears’ _ Oops… I Did It Again _. 

Donghyuck shoots the question back at Mark, to which he jokingly answers, “Sisqo’s _ The Thong Song _ was released in 1999.” Donghyuck nearly leaves the café at that very moment, which sends Mark into a fit of giggles. 

He ends up sitting next to Mark on his side of the table, sharing earbuds as they watch the music videos for old songs on Donghyuck’s iPhone. “The quality on my phone is _ much _ better than your Android, Mark.” 

“Uh huh, okay.”

Their cups run empty and abandoned all too fast as they watch videos from the likes of Beyoncé, The Black Eyed Peas, Fall Out Boy. They take a break from nostalgia road when Donghyuck walks up to the counter to bring back their mugs. He returns with a cake pop for each of them, along with two glasses of water. 

“So Mark,” he says as he bites into his birthday cake flavoured cake pop. He has returned to his original seat, on the chair across the table from Mark. “What’s your favourite fruit?” 

Mark doesn’t take a second to hesitate when he says, “watermelons. Especially in the summer.” He pulls out the cake pop from its paper bag and sets it on the the table, on top of the bag. “What makes you ask?” 

“Everyone’s got one. Some people like weirdly specific fruit.” Donghyuck grins mischeviously and says, “What if I said my favourite fruit is a kumquat?” 

Mark is getting used to Donghyuck’s smile, the way it reaches his eyes. “But is it a kumquat?” 

“Obviously not.” He finishes the last of his cake pop. “Cherries and strawberries are my favourite fruit.” 

Mark sits back into his seat, folds his hand on the table when he takes a look at Donghyuck. Somehow this makes a lot of sense. He nods knowingly and says, “ah. Red fruit.” 

Donghyuck leans forward and puts a hand on one of Mark’s. “Sounds like we have that in common, huh?”

Mark feels himself blush, as bright as a strawberry plucked at the peak of summer. "Yeah, I guess so."

They leave Starbucks three hours later as Yeri begins to tuck in chairs and sweep the floor. She gives Mark a small wave as he exits the café with Donghyuck's hand in his, the promise of a second date on his mind.

He’s definitely sending a thank-you text to Lucas later. 

**Author's Note:**

> the idea for this fic was based off of [this tweet](https://twitter.com/notreallysophie/status/1186014257709752321). it was a fic prompt just waiting to be written.
> 
> let me know if you'd like to see them go on a second date :)
> 
>   
[twitter](https://twitter.com/boyfrendery) | [cc](https://curiouscat.me/boyfrendery)


End file.
